Regardless of destination and arrangements, travel may a time and energy consuming proposition for any traveler. Airplane, train, and bus travelers in particular must often endure extended periods of travel in less than spacious accommodations. In particular, short of the lucky few whose travel accommodations enable them to lie down, most travelers must tolerate those extended periods sitting upright. To pass the time or otherwise break the monotony, a traveler may attempt to sleep. However, sleeping while sitting upright may be difficult or impossible for some travelers, and at least awkward for those who can find sleep.
For example, when a person sitting upright begins to falls asleep, their body may relax and among other movements, their head may drop and/or otherwise fall forward. At this point, the person may jerk suddenly awake, potentially both causing embarrassment to themselves and startling those seated close by. Scientifically speaking, the potentially embarrassing muscle twitch is known as a hypnagogic myoclonic twitch or “hypnic jerk.” in general, the hypnic jerk can be explained as the brain's response to the traveler's muscles as they begin to slack and go into a restful state just as the traveler is falling asleep. The traveler's brain may sense these relaxation signals and misinterpret them by thinking that the traveler is falling down. In response, the brain may send signals to the muscles in the traveler's arms and legs in an attempt to jerk them back upright. Some studies suggest that up to 70 percent of all people experience this phenomenon just after nodding off.
Thus, there is a need for a device and/or method to mitigate the embarrassing hypnic jerk and/or to make sleeping upright more achievable and comfortable. Presently known art that attempt to address this problem include:
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The teachings of each of the above-listed citations (which do not themselves incorporate essential material by reference) are herein incorporated by reference. None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singularly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.